Natural sun + hydroponics question

Hi all - I'm moving to a house in a remote area that has a very secluded backyard. I'm wanting to try and build a small and simple (though high) greenhouse in the backyard for a few plants and put them on a simple hydroponic system (just have always wanted to try natural sun + hydro). I'm a complete newb when it comes to greenhouses though...

So here's a whole bunch of questions:

What is the material called that can be used for greenhouse roofing that is opaque (not so see-through), yet lets through a majority of PAR? Are any brands better than others? Anyone know a distributor in Florida for it? Cost? Also, any other suggestions out there to protect from look-down observation?

Anyone have a suggestion for the type of hydroponics system that might be best for this kind of set-up? Currently planning on DWC.

Also would like to add a small A/C and heating unit. [But no luck finding anything that is tolerant of semi-outdoor conditions. Think a window type unit would fit the bill best?]

Thanks for any input, could really use some input/suggestions/help on setting this up if anyone can help. Thanks in advance.

cackpircings said:

Maybe do some bubble buckets… Low power usage so you can do one big bubbler or a bunch of small ones. They are water proof so you can keep them out side without worry. Plants grow a little different outside, and the buckets will give them the space to grow really big. Good luck man.

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Yeah that's exactly why I was thinking DWC. Bubblers are simple and sturdy enough for being semi-outside. Glad someone else agrees on that part. Think 5 gallon buckets would be adequate?

SableZen said:

Yeah that's exactly why I was thinking DWC. Bubblers are simple and sturdy enough for being semi-outside. Glad someone else agrees on that part. Think 5 gallon buckets would be adequate?

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Try one bigger sized just for shits and giggles!

Lots of bubble buckets are a bitch to maintain (also expensive as hell). Set up a NFT or flood table system so you can work off 1 large res. Paint the res white and keep it outside the greenhouse so the water temps don't climb in the greenhouses' stale-air environment.

What area are you in? Its warm where I am for winter, I've just started some plants outside in DWC. I heard a guy in the hydro shop say people should be expecting pre flowers by the 20th?!. Where are you guys? Is it too late to leave these guys outside for a fall harvest?

Central Florida here.

I've already pulled a couple of males - haven't been out to check yet this week, but I would bet some of the females are showing plainly as well...

I wouldn't bother starting outdoors at this point unless it's just for fun, knowledge, or you like little plants with little buds. Just my opinion.

Fuzzotany said:

Lots of bubble buckets are a bitch to maintain (also expensive as hell). Set up a NFT or flood table system so you can work off 1 large res. Paint the res white and keep it outside the greenhouse so the water temps don't climb in the greenhouses' stale-air environment.

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Good points - I want to grow trees though.

Drip, and bucket Ebb and Flow are the only other techniques that would work with that goal that I can think of right now... think either of those would be better than a basic bubbler/DWC?

The problem with DWC and 5gal buckets is you have to lift the plant all the time to fill-up or change the rez. If you're looking to make trees, you can construct a fine large-scale NFT system with stained pressurized wood that you apply a sealant to. Or you can be like Disney and use PVC with a 5in internal diameter set into a 12inch PVC tube with caps. Drip systems are too hard to calibrate in my experience, especially if you grow a variety of strains that drink a little more or less. I've never dealt with ebb&flow so you may wanna look more into that.

Yeah I hear you - was looking at a recirculating DWC system (so the main reservoir is easily accessible/cleanable/changeable specifically so I wouldn't have to be lifting big plants all the time). Think that is a viable compromise? Just seemed like a lower maintenance/cost system overall to my hydro-virgin-self.

But I'll take your advice and look into how to construct a large NFT system. Always down for trying something different'ish. Thanks for the ideas man.

If you put 5gal buckets on a platform and fit drainage into the bottom you could drain into something when you wanna change out and avoid the lifting I guess. One of the other problems with DWC though is that you need to top em off almost every day, which means you'd also need to make a fill hole (in addition to your air line hole) in the lid and either fill it by hand or make a refill system. Another problem is it takes like 2x the water, therefore more nutes, more PH adjusting... Just trying to save ya the madness I've discovered in my 1st grows.

Wouldn't a recirculating system avoid most of that (plus allow the use of a chiller)? I appreciate the help by the way! Good point about nutrients - hadn't really considered that...

This is specifically the system design I'm thinking about:

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=26343

Introduction
Some of you may or may not be familiar with Recirculating Dwc,However it is just a multiple bucket version of Dwc "DEEP WATER CULTURE" that is all connected to a single controller,Where nutrients is pumped from a pump to the top of each bucket,And returns through the bottom of each bucket back to the controller,Basically continuously mixing the nutrient solution making it stable through-out the whole system.The controller will have a float valve installed where it is connected to a reservoir which will auto top/feed the system.Each bucket will have an airline and airstone/air difffuser.Or the controller will have a powerhead installed.This is how the water/nutrient solution will get its Do "DISSOLVED OXYGEN".

Pros
The Bennifits to this system are!You can cool the whole system using a single water chiller.The system will auto top off and mix nutrient solution 24/7 keeping ph and ppm stable from bucket to bucket.And the growth and vigor is explosive when optimized.

Cons
Well the drawbacks,#1 is that this system uses lots of water.#2 is that its recirculating,So if one plants root system gets effected it can/will spread through out the system.Though on this version i put shut off valve on each row to insure if problem accurs i can isolate it to one single row.Its also possible for the roots to clog the return line causing an overflow however in this version thats very unlikely.

[Continued at link above]

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sablezen said:

wouldn't a recirculating system avoid most of that (plus allow the use of a chiller)? I appreciate the help by the way! Good point about nutrients - hadn't really considered that...

This is specifically the system design i'm thinking about:

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=26343

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take a piece of 4in pipe cut a couple of 3 in holes 4 ure baskets and do a hybrid flood and drain with a ultrasonic fogger feeding in tha 4 in where the roots are check out u tube

Check the system out in harvest a lb every three weeks. Its a thread on here. Good Luck

SableZen said:

Wouldn't a recirculating system avoid most of that (plus allow the use of a chiller)? I appreciate the help by the way! Good point about nutrients - hadn't really considered that...

This is specifically the system design I'm thinking about:

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=26343

Click to expand...

That looks okay if you wanna spend a bundle. I do wonder how high the water level gets in those as the pics don't really show. Plus it looks like a lot of trouble to hook up everything. Also, he listed in the cons it can flood and it uses a ton of water.
You can use a chiller in a NFT reservoir just the same, without the expense of air pumps (if you drill a small hole at the top of your 90degree PVC before it enters the system, it draws in a bit of air into the system without leaking water). It is a recirculating system, water is pushed into the "canal" and makes a stream flowing downhill into a drain where gravity brings it back to the res. As long as you keep things going downhill, you can double-back paralell to your 2st "canal" and just let gravity do all the work.